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Glassjaw's Blog of Randomness

Greetings everyone and welcome to my blog for all things random.

Seattle, Washington is one hell of a rainy place. Luckily for me, this gives me an excuse to spend those cloudy days playing games. Between juggling a full time career, my beautiful girlfriend, and the several other responsibilities that choke the life out of us all, I find some time here and there to play new and old releases. I'm a believer in living life as positively as we can, because we only get one try at it. I dabble in everything and I'm sure as you browse my blog you'll find something we have in common.

My blog aims to bring a fair and balanced look at the game industry as a whole. Feel free to browse my blogs, comment or critique them, or communicate with me as you see fit. I will often ask community questions that range anywhere from your impressions on upcoming or releases games to helping me choose a new platform. I've been on 1up.com for nearly four years now and this blog is an attempt to bring the community together to discuss the artistic medium we all love: video games.

Shoot me a message, comment where you see fit, or troll all you want. All I ask is you keep it respectful, to both me and the other 1uppers who comment on my blog.

Regards,

Matthew

Blog

I raise my glass to you, fellow 1uppers. I'm going to keep this as short as possible, since I'm sure these words will be erased shortly. It's been five years spent on this website. Two years actively blogging and I thank every one of you who liked, commented, argued, trolled, and made me reach the thousands upon thousands of views that I have. I had a blast writing reviews, asking community questions, and other randomness. But alas, it's time to hang up the towel.

I won't be writing on any other website. I'm not saving my blogs and carrying them elsewhere. I really liked 1up and that's where I want all the memories to stay. If you all would like to add me on PSN or Xbox Live, I've left my tags below. You can also add me on FaceBook if you'd like an extra friend. See you online my fellow 1uppers, it's been a hell of a time.

I've been slowly making my way through both Ni no Kuni and Devil May Cry the last few weeks. I've set a bunch of other games to the side, so I can focus on these two. I picked up Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One to play coop with my girl, and I'm still trudging along through Resistance 3, Skyrim, and Bulletstorm. Lots of games and just not enough time. As some of you may know, I recently added a new member to my family. Sam, our Goldendoodle puppy, has taken up a lot of my time lately, but it's been time well spent. He's a real adventurous little guy and he's smart as a whip. We've had him for a little over a month now, but he's easily fitting in.

When I have had a chance to get a few hours in, I've mainly been making my way through Ni no Kuni. As I wrote in my previous blog, I'm extremely impressed with Ni no Kuni and it's wonderful story, game design, and art style. Some of you may know that I'm not the biggest JRPG fan, but Ni no Kuni is an early candidate for one of my top games of 2013. Playing Ni no Kuni makes me want to venture into more JRPG's. I've been looking into White Knight Chronicles, as well as some of the Tales Games, specifically Tales of Grace F. Any of you 1uppers out there play these titles or have any recommendations for new JRPG's? I'm looking for an RPG similar to Ni no Kuni in battle, so real time instead of turn based. Hit me below if you have any recommendations.

As for Devil May Cry, I'm not sure if I understand the hate. Maybe I'm a bit of a fanboy, because I love Ninja Theory. Enslaved was one of my favorite surprise games in the last few years. You can definitely tell that the Devil May Cry reboot was more than inspired by some of Enslaved design choices. Sharp graphics with a bright vibe, solid voice acting with a sci-fi-ish story, and a diverse mix of combat and platforming. Sure, Devil May Cry's combat is much deeper than Enslaved and it's fundamentally a very different game, but you can see that Ninja Theory wore its inspiration on its sleeve.

The hate that the game received really surprised me. Maybe because I was never really into Devil May Cry, so I was never attached to the old Dante. Yeah, he's a little crass and a much younger version of Dante, but he's still the same bad ass, one liner, demon slaying mofo. This reboot has fantastic pacing, beautiful graphics, an interesting story, and some of the best combat of this generation. If you're mad about the hair cut, get over it dudes.

SO…

What have you guys been up to lately? Have you tried Ni no Kuni or Devil May Cry? What games are you all playing? Comment below and give me an update!

Ni no Kuni reminds me of the good old days. A beautifully crafted game that focuses on simple, yet engaging combat, a charming story, and wonderful artistic design - Ni no Kuni is the reason we play video games. Everything from the intricate musical score to the hand drawn cut scenes, this game harkens back to a day where JRPG's were subtle, yet powerful. Every moment is delightfully memorable.

I'm about ten hours into Oliver's story - a simplistic tale of a boy whose innocence empowers those around him. He's searching for his mothers soul mate, while battling a mysterious antagonist named Shadar, an evil spirit who seeks to darken his and Oliver's world. Oliver is the long awaited pure hearted one, whose kind heartedness propels him into this adventure to save both worlds. This isn't melodrama like recent Final Fantasies and the overall quest structure can be described as cutesy, but to do so would be to undermine the soul of Ni no Kuni. It may not feature spiky haired anti-heroes, but it's chock full of heartwarming side quests and engaging overarching themes.

PROS

+ The art design is some of the most beautiful I've seen this generation. Every area looks as if it would fit at home in any Studio Ghibli film. Areas are diverse and designed with imagination. This is art design at its finest.

+ The Pokemon-ish combat system is addicting and the level progression is spectacular. Think Pokemon meets the Tales series.

+ The musical score is brilliant. It can be subtle when it needs to be or carry weight in the right moments. Every area has its own soundtrack and the score fits in with the vibe of that area.

+ Drippy, and generally most of the characters, have a lot of heart and are well-rounded characters. You will smile at the charming dialogue.

+ The game has great pacing and makes you wan to play more and more. The difficulty level (so far) is spot on, and only your usual amount of grinding is required.

+ The borrow and give heart dynamic is interesting. Oliver is allowed to take the hearts of those who have too much and give to those who need it. This system leads to Oliver collecting stamps that allow him to upgrade several key aspects of the game.

CONS

- There needs to be more voice acting. Usually a few lines will be spoken, followed by a full conversation of text. With a magical game like this, you want to hear these characters.

- Micromanaging your Familiars (that's what they call the Pokemon-ish creatures in the game) can be a bit frustrating. There is a treat system that boost stats and you have to do this for each monster in a menu. It can lead to too much menu time and not enough adventuring.

- Micromanaging in combat is also a bit frustrating. You eventually control multiple Familiars and characters at once. You should be able to set up the tactics for the AI in a really in depth way (think Dragon Age 2). Preset tactics could really help elevate the combat.

SO...

Have you tried Ni no Kuni? What do you think so far? Do you agree with the recent C+ review 1up.com gave it? Expect a full review in the coming weeks and remember to comment below!